


Of Monsters and Miracles

by KasmiAnn



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brief scenes, Freeform time travel, Gen, I made stuff up dont come for me, Love vs Hate, Swearing, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Torture, Violence, not graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:01:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25531759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KasmiAnn/pseuds/KasmiAnn
Summary: Where there is a monster, there is a miracle. Neville travels back in time to try and save his parents from the hands of the Lestrange's. Will he be successful or will his parents continue to live out their lives in St. Mungos?
Comments: 17
Kudos: 46
Collections: Dumbledore's Armada: Wheel of Death Flash Fiction Comp





	Of Monsters and Miracles

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Wheel of Death Flash Fiction Comp hosted by Frumpologist in Dumbledore's Armada Discord Server. My chosen character was Neville Longbottom. My Wheel of Death prompts were:
> 
> Character: Lily Evans  
> Trope: Five Things  
> Theme: Love  
> Quote: "Where there is a monster, there is a miracle." - Ogden Nash
> 
> I’d like to thank my alpha/beta for their time, though they will remain anonymous until reveals.

Neville landed outside the shabby house with a soft thud and heard the screaming from inside. Fuck. He’d timed it wrong and was probably too late. He ran inside the back door, following the screams and maniacal laughter until the screaming stopped. He walked into a small room and saw his mother lying in the middle of the floor, Bellatrix on top of her yelling something into her ear. Neville couldn’t make out what she was saying; he only had eyes for his mother who was staring blankly at the ceiling above her. He recognized that look, it was the same look she had every time he visited her at St. Mungos. He couldn’t breathe. 

He was too late. 

Neville left the room as quietly as he could and took in the rest of the small house. He heard voices in the main area and looked around the corner to see two figures standing over his father who had his eyes closed. Rabastan and Rodolphus. He leaned up against the wall and pulled the time-turner from under his shirt. He gave it a spin and closed his eyes as he returned to the present time.

He sat down as soon as he landed and put his head between his knees. _He could do this. He needed to do this._ He shook his head to get the image of his mother and father out of his head. 

He stood up and walked to the small table where he had left a few supplies, grabbing the parchment and quill to make a few notes. He made a crude drawing of the house, marking the entrance he had come in and the rooms where he found his parents. 

Looking at the time-turner, he marked the time used on the parchment. Theo wasn’t able to tell him how many times he would be able to use the time-turner so, in exchange for his discretion, Neville offered to make notes each time he used it so Theo could further his research. 

Neville clicked the turner back a few notches and took a deep breath as he spun the turner and prepared for the fight ahead. 

He landed a second time to silence. He watched the house, looking for movement inside but saw none. As he was about to go inside, he heard three distinct cracks in the air followed by yelling. 

“I told you, we don’t know where your precious Dark Lord went! He vanished!” His father was struggling between the Lestrange brothers as they dragged him towards the house. Behind them, Bellatrix followed, his mother floating silently beside her locked in a body bind. Her eyes looked around wildly, fear and panic evident even from a distance.

_Oh, Mum!_ Tears flooded his eyes and he swiped at them angrily. 

He gripped his wand in his fist and sprinted out to stop them before they entered the house.

“Stupefy!” he yelled, catching Bellatrix in the chest, throwing her back a few feet, his mother dropping to the ground. He ran over the Bellatrix and kicked her wand out of reach. He put the tip of his wand directly into her face as she stared up at him, a twisted smile on her face. Rage filled him and his whole body shook with it as he stared back at her. Suddenly he heard two cracks and he whipped around to find the spot where his mother had landed empty; she and his father gone with the two death eaters. 

Bellatrix cackled and kicked out at Neville, catching him off guard as he hit the ground hard. He gripped his wand and spun the turner around his neck, spinning away from the crazed witch as she found her wand and pointed it at him. 

“Fuck!” He yelled as he landed on his back. He laid there for a minute catching his breath before he stood up and bounced on the balls of his feet. He grabbed the chain and spun it again.

On his third time, Neville waited until he saw the group again and ran out to catch them off guard. He wasn’t as quick this time, catching a stupefy to the leg as one of the Lestrange brothers saw him before he made it halfway across the yard. 

The fourth time, Neville ran up to the house to get a different angle, before the group arrived. A moment later, he watched them appear, the scene the same; his father struggling, his mother looking on in fear. As they reached the house, Neville jumped out and threw a quick stupefy at one of the Lestrange brothers, a full-body bind at the other. 

His father looked at him in shock. “Who are you?” He asked, his mouth agape. 

“No time to explain!” Neville yelled as he took off after Bellatrix who was running back from where she came from, his mother's body following behind quickly. When she reached the end of the yard, Bellatrix stopped and grabbed Alice around the waist. She gave Neville a small finger wave and disapparated on the spot with a crack. 

“NO!” Neville yelled and fell to the ground where his mother disappeared. He had failed again. 

He spun the time-turner angrily and glanced back as he began spinning away to see his father dueling the two brothers. 

_Hold on dad, I’ll be back,_ he thought. 

The fifth time, Neville waited for them to get inside the house, realizing he had to keep the Lestranges away from the apparation point in the yard.

He entered the house as he heard his parents being interrogated and found his dad on the floor writhing in pain under the cruciatus already. 

Neville lunged at the brothers, forcibly knocking them to the ground and his wand went flying. Bellatrix ran to the other room with Alice and slammed the door behind her. He heard her roar “CRUCIO” and his mother screamed. 

The brothers were on top of him, keeping him from getting his wand. Frank was on his back staring into nothingness and Neville knew he had failed again. He kicked the brothers off of him and gave the time-turner a spin as he scooped his wand into his hand. 

Neville landed back in the present time and screamed into the vacant room. He kicked at the small table, punched the wall with his fists, and yelled until his voice cracked. Based on his calculations on the nearby parchment, he was running out of time; he only had enough magic left in the turner for a couple more trips. 

He crouched down on the floor, running his hands over his face. He needed help; he needed advice on how to defeat the Lestranges. But who could he ask? He stared at the time-turner realizing his options were endless. 

Sirius Black. _Yes, that was perfect!_ He needed to talk to Bellatrix's cousin. 

He stood up and apparated as close to the Hogwarts grounds as he could. He ran into the Forbidden Forest, up to the monument erected for Harry by the Wizarding World. “The Boy Who Lived (Again)” was etched into the marble depiction of Harry in Hagrid's arms. 

Neville stepped a few yards behind it and gave the time-turner a few clicks forward before spinning it. He hoped this would work.

He watched as the forest turned dark and dreary. Based on what Harry had said, Sirius came to him from the Resurrection Stone just before he met Voldemort. Neville watched as the slightly younger Harry walked into the open space and turned something over in his hand. Slowly, the spirit of Sirius appeared, along with Harry’s parents and Professor Lupin. He let Harry speak to them and as Neville watched, Harry’s parents put their hands on his shoulders. Neville knew it was now or never. 

He ran into the opening quickly. “Wait!” 

Harry looked at him, doing a double-take. “Neville! You look...older.,” he said, confusion written on his face. 

“I’m sorry Harry, this will only take a second.” He looked at Sirius who was looking at him with curiosity. “I need your help,” he pleaded. “I’m trying to save my parents in the past and I can’t defeat the Lestranges. Everything I’ve tried has failed and I’m running out of time.” Neville pulled the time-turner out to show them all. “There is only enough magic left for one trip to the past and back.” His voice broke. “What do I do? I need a miracle at this point.”

Sirius looked at the other two men, but it was Lily Potter who answered from behind him.

“You’re focusing on the wrong thing my dear boy,” her soft voice said. Neville turned towards her, confused. 

“What do you mean?”

Mrs. Potter smiled at him. “You hate the Lestranges, am I correct?”

Neville clenched his jaw. “I hate them with everything in me,” he replied vehemently. 

“You’re focusing on that hate and trying to defeat them, trying to hurt them in the past to save Frank and Alice.” Mrs. Potter’s spirit moved towards him. “Your parents loved you so much.”

Neville swallowed the lump in his throat. “I need to save them, save their minds.”

Mrs. Potter put her ghostly hand on his cheek, the touch as cold as ice. “My love is what saved Harry from Voldemort the night I died. You need to focus on your love for your parents; not the hate for the Lestranges.”

Neville stared into her eyes and it clicked. He knew what he needed to do. “Thank you, Mrs. Potter!”

He stepped back and nodded at Harry who was watching them. “Good luck, mate,” he said as he spun the turner again. 

“You too,” he heard Harry say as he moved forward in time. 

He arrived back at the shabby house and took a few deep breaths to calm his rapidly beating heart. 

He turned a few notches on the time-turner and sent it spinning into the past one last time. This was his final chance. 

He landed yet again upon the familiar scene. This time he waited until they entered the house and then he sprang into action. He entered the back of the house and tossed a stupefy at the far wall to get their attention. 

“I know where he is!” Neville yelled as the group turned around, surprise on all their faces. 

Bellatrix pointed her wand at him, letting his mother drop to the floor. “What did you say?” 

“I know where your precious Dark Lord is,” Neville said again, inching his way towards the room in the back. The Lestranges advanced on him, completely forgetting about Frank who was helping his now mobile wife to her feet quietly. 

As he crossed into the room, Neville threw an incendio at the wall, setting it alight and blocking his parents from himself and the Lestranges. 

“Dad! Run! Get to the apparation point!” Neville yelled over the roar of the fire. 

Rabastan and Rodolphus yelled and tried to run back into the other room as the Longbottoms escaped out the back door. 

Bellatrix bent over and screamed at the floor before pointing her wand at Neville. “CRUCIO!” She yelled. 

Pain coursed through Neville's body as he fell to the floor, writhing. Over his screams, he faintly heard two pops and his mind was flooded with visions. 

_Christmas as a child; his parents smiling as he opened his gifts._

_His mum wiping away tears and his dad waving as he boarded the train to Hogwarts._

_Visiting Gran’s home as a family._

_Running into their arms after Voldemort was defeated in the final battle._

They weren’t visions. They were memories. 

Neville had done it. He’d saved his parents. 

Tears streamed down his face as he fought through the pain and gripped the time-turner in his hand, giving it one last spin to take him home.


End file.
